Thursday, 25 August 2016

The Fossil Hunters exhibit
covering the work of the TW:eed project closed at National Museums Scotland on
August 14th after an extremely successful run beginning in February.
The exhibit showcases some of the tetrapod, fish and arthropod fossils found by
the TW:eed Project and explains how scientists reconstruct the environment they
lived in. The exhibit tells the story of how life evolved on land, with specimens
from the early Devonian of Rhynie, this project and Carboniferous tetrapods
from East Kirkton. My favourite part are the fabric artwork diorama
reconstructions of the ancient tetrapod world, they are magnificent!

Image
copyright Phil Wilkinson

Image
copyright Ruth Armstrong Photography

Over 62,000 people visited the exhibit to much acclaim. Visitors
to the exhibit included many from overseas, including significant numbers
from the US and Canada, but also France, Poland, Croatia, Indonesia,
China, Venezuela, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland,
Portugal, and Spain. The exhibit clearly appealed to a very wide cross section
of the public, and numerous visitor comments reflect the enthusiasm for the
research into early tetrapods around the world;

‘Very
enlightening. Enjoyed the videos especially, really brings it to life. Reminded
me of searching for fossils as a kid – inspired me to look again!’

‘Fascinating,
well explained exhibition. Scotland is so special.’

‘Absolutely
brilliant – fascinating to make link between science, technology and geology.
Love the local links too – great exhibits and easy to understand. 10/10!’